40 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNERS. 



By John T. Carrington. 



T T has occurred to iiie, in consequence of not 

 ■*■ infrequent requests for information, to write a 

 series of short articles under the above heading. The 

 intention is that they should serve as inducements to 

 encourage naturalists to commence studies with which 

 they are unfamiliar., I believe that an absence of 

 knowledge of the literature referring to any branch of 

 natural or physical science, is one of the greatest 

 deterrents in taking up its investigation. I shall, 

 therefore, give from time to time a list of such works 

 as will be found useful in the particular section under 

 consideration ; commencing with quite beginners 

 books, and leading the student to those of more 

 technical character. Of course there are many books 

 on the respective subjects to be consulted later ; but 

 my "object is to give working lists of those most 

 necessary at the commencement. 



Should the intending student find difficulty in 

 obtaining these works, we shall be pleased to get them 

 on request, and forward them from this office, carriage 

 paid, at their published prices. To this, there will be 

 some few exceptions, which must be a matter of 

 arrangement, when the book is out of print, or for 

 other reasons. 



I will commence with the 



MOLLUSCA. 

 In former times the general term Conchology was 

 applied to the study of Mollusca. That term, how- 

 ever, is now only used with reg;ard to the shells of 

 these animals, while Malacology is the accepted word 

 to cover the study of the animals, their structure, 

 habits and shells. 



The British student of Malacology may consider 

 the subject as divided into four sections. Section i 

 applies to our insular fauna, which may be divided 

 into the land and freshwater species and those of our 

 seas. Section 2 to the study of the Mollusca of 

 other parts of the world. Section 3 to classifica- 

 tion. Section 4 to the morphology 01 structure, 

 including anatomy of Mollusca in general ; and to 

 the investigation of the habits of various species. 

 Commencing with the first Section : — 

 Llo.NEL Ernest Adams, The Collector's Alanual 

 of British Laiid and Freshwater Shells, published by 

 Taylor Brothers of Leeds at los. 6d. , is the most con- 

 venient and trustworthy beginner's book on the 

 British species. The second edition, issued in 1896, is 

 the best, as the nomenclature is more nearly brought 

 up to dale. It contains coloured plates and 

 instructions for collecting and preservation of mollusca. 

 With plain plates it costs 8s. ; coloured, los. 6d. 



LovEi.i. Reeve's Land and Freshwater Mollnsks 

 Indigenous tp, or Naturalized in the British Isles, 

 though published in 1863 is still in many ways one of 

 the best works upon the shells of which it treats. 



The species are illustrated by vignettes of the animals, 

 and woodcuts of the shells. There is a fairly full 

 synonymy of nomenclature. It has long been out of 

 print, but can be got second-hand for about los. 6d. 

 Dr. William Turton's Manual of the Land 

 and Fi-eshwater Shells of the British Islands has 

 coloured plates which are useful for identification. ' 

 The nomenclature in many instances is not that now 

 used. The edition of 1857, edited by Dr. Gray, is the 

 one to obtain. It is now sold second-hand at about 7s. 

 Richard Rimmer's Land and Freshwater Shells 

 of British Isles, with II plates of photographic illus- 

 trations, published in 1880, is useful for identifying 

 .some of the smaller species. It was issued at lis., 

 and sells second-hand at 3s. 



Dr. Gwyn Jeffrey's i?;7'/'?'.t// Conchology, issued in 

 1862-69, five vols, with 147 plates, is a .standard work 

 on the British mollusca as a whole, the last four vols, 

 containing the marine species. It was published at 

 £^, and now at second-hand commands £2 iSs. 

 for the plain plate edition and ;^S 5s. for that with 

 coloured plates. Vol. I., containing the land and 

 freshwater species, may be obtained separately with 

 plates at 12s. 



Another important work, a History of British 

 Mollusca and their Shells, four vols., issued in 1853 by 

 Edward Forbes and Sylv.anlts Hanley, may be 

 had second-hand, plain plates at £,\ and coloured, £io. 

 The British nudibranchiate mollusca are best studied 

 by Alder and Hancock's Monograph of the Nudi- 

 branchiate Mollusca, published by the Ray Society in 

 1845 with handsome coloured plates. This may be 

 obtained for about £2. los. Second-hand. 



John William Taylor's Monograph of the 

 Land and Freslnvater Mollusca of the British Isles, 

 will, when finished, be a standard work on the 

 British species. It is being issued by Taylor Brothers, 

 of Leeds, at 6s. per part. The first was out in 1894. 

 They come at irregular intervals of about a year, 

 part 4 being the last. It is elaborately written and 

 illustrated, and will form a valuable book of referehce. 

 There are several small and cheap books on British 

 Shells, but some of them are inaccurate or out of 

 touch with the present knowledge of the subject. 



The works on the European Mollusc fauna to lie 

 consulted are : — 



Carl Agardh Westerlund's Fauna der in der 

 Palaarctischcn Region, Lebendcn Binnenconcylicn, 

 published in 1886. This is the standard work, and 

 costs about £2, 7s. 6d. It is written in the German 

 language. 



Emil Adolf Rossmaessler's Iconograhphie der 

 Land- und Siisswasser Molluskeii. Vols. 1-18, first 

 i-ssued in 1835, is still being published in German, at 

 about 27s. a volume. 



